Economist- Let them learn- The risks of keeping schools closed far outweigh the benefits

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is like the ultimate form of gaslighting. We have leaders who have done NOTHING to stop the spread of the virus, and have actually undermined efforts to do so. Then they want to blame the teachers when schools can't open safely.

Sad to see how many of you have fallen for it.

I love how the blame is on federal leadership. Yes it has been horrible. But if you read the national response framework on a pandemic, the responsibility is at the state and local level. In some states have done much better than others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is like the ultimate form of gaslighting. We have leaders who have done NOTHING to stop the spread of the virus, and have actually undermined efforts to do so. Then they want to blame the teachers when schools can't open safely.

Sad to see how many of you have fallen for it.

I love how the blame is on federal leadership. Yes it has been horrible. But if you read the national response framework on a pandemic, the responsibility is at the state and local level. In some states have done much better than others.

Deflection. Nice try meadows

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is like the ultimate form of gaslighting. We have leaders who have done NOTHING to stop the spread of the virus, and have actually undermined efforts to do so. Then they want to blame the teachers when schools can't open safely.

Sad to see how many of you have fallen for it.

I love how the blame is on federal leadership. Yes it has been horrible. But if you read the national response framework on a pandemic, the responsibility is at the state and local level. In some states have done much better than others.

Federal leadership? What’s that? We wouldn’t know given the current admin. They are entirely to blame, for lack of testing, tracing, production of PPE, and for undermining adherence to social distancing and mask wearing. Whether it’s simple incompetence or malice, or both, is unclear, but it’s clear the current administration is a failure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is like the ultimate form of gaslighting. We have leaders who have done NOTHING to stop the spread of the virus, and have actually undermined efforts to do so. Then they want to blame the teachers when schools can't open safely.

Sad to see how many of you have fallen for it.

I love how the blame is on federal leadership. Yes it has been horrible. But if you read the national response framework on a pandemic, the responsibility is at the state and local level. In some states have done much better than others.

Federal leadership? What’s that? We wouldn’t know given the current admin. They are entirely to blame, for lack of testing, tracing, production of PPE, and for undermining adherence to social distancing and mask wearing. Whether it’s simple incompetence or malice, or both, is unclear, but it’s clear the current administration is a failure.

+1. But I think there has been a failure at all levels to prioritize schools in the reopening plans. We are prioritizing indoor dining over education.

We need to have an honest conversation about the long term risks/benefits of reopening schools. Right now any support for reopening schools in any fashion draws the immediate criticism that you want to kill teachers. There are other sectors of society that have opened (or never closed) because the benefits of keeping them open outweigh the risks if closing to the society at large, even as it means that individual employees assume higher risk (my DH is such an employee). And it might be that the answer differs depending on the age group- my hunch is that it would be higher benefit/lower risk to bring ES students back. Then you could focus on making sure the older students have the resources they need for remote learning (computers, internet, etc.). But that’s just me- we need to have a real cost/benefit analysis and no one has stepped up to the plate to provide that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://www.economist.com/leaders/2020/07/18/the-risks-of-keeping-schools-closed-far-outweigh-the-benefits?fbclid=IwAR3aWHwHAUu3yCEdbtG0aywVXZNz_v3scNGhdW0i6nEglfeX510KUxQuH4k

Text available here for those that don’t have a Subscription- https://outline.com/stat1k/

“Education is the surest path out of poverty. Depriving children of it will doom them to poorer, shorter, less fulfilling lives. The World Bank estimates that five months of school closures would cut lifetime earnings for the children who are affected by $10trn in today’s money, equivalent to 7% of current annual GDP.

With such catastrophic potential losses, governments should be working out how to reopen schools as soon as it is safe. This should not be a partisan issue, as it has sadly become in America, where some people assume it is a bad idea simply because President Donald Trump proposes it. In some countries teachers’ unions have been obstructive, partly out of justified concern for public health as cases climb, but also because teachers’ interests are not the same as children’s—especially if they are being paid whether they work or not. The main union in Los Angeles urges that schools remain closed until a long wishlist of demands has been met, including the elusive dream of universal health care in America. Children cannot wait that long.”

This may be true in Eurpe but the risks in the US are far greater.

[Anonymous]

Why hire local teachers any more?

[Anonymous]

It's not the teachers fault that there was no consistent leadership and states rushed to reopen. And, mask wearing became politicized. I mean schools *could* have been open no problem.

Where were the economists then?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is like the ultimate form of gaslighting. We have leaders who have done NOTHING to stop the spread of the virus, and have actually undermined efforts to do so. Then they want to blame the teachers when schools can't open safely.

Sad to see how many of you have fallen for it.

I love how the blame is on federal leadership. Yes it has been horrible. But if you read the national response framework on a pandemic, the responsibility is at the state and local level. In some states have done much better than others.

Federal leadership? What’s that? We wouldn’t know given the current admin. They are entirely to blame, for lack of testing, tracing, production of PPE, and for undermining adherence to social distancing and mask wearing. Whether it’s simple incompetence or malice, or both, is unclear, but it’s clear the current administration is a failure.

+1. But I think there has been a failure at all levels to prioritize schools in the reopening plans. We are prioritizing indoor dining over education.

We need to have an honest conversation about the long term risks/benefits of reopening schools. Right now any support for reopening schools in any fashion draws the immediate criticism that you want to kill teachers. There are other sectors of society that have opened (or never closed) because the benefits of keeping them open outweigh the risks if closing to the society at large, even as it means that individual employees assume higher risk (my DH is such an employee). And it might be that the answer differs depending on the age group- my hunch is that it would be higher benefit/lower risk to bring ES students back. Then you could focus on making sure the older students have the resources they need for remote learning (computers, internet, etc.). But that’s just me- we need to have a real cost/benefit analysis and no one has stepped up to the plate to provide that.

So, not everywhere. For example, NYC has indefinitely postponed indoor dining to mitigate that risk. And gyms. And museums. Pretty much any indoor space where people would congregate in numbers for a prolonged period of time. But NYC schools are still at risk because of the porous state borders and the 12,000 people arriving daily from states with high levels of community spread. There's a reason US citizens are no longer welcome in other countries, and that is our government's abysmal failure to control the spread of this virus. They don't discriminate based on which state you are a resident of, because that is meaningless. People travel from state to state freely-this is why we need a federal response. Not a local response.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree with article. And the surest way to mitigate the damage is to do ALL of the things our federal government and some state governments have refused to do.

If all these "back to school" screamers would simply acknowledge this is 1. not a hoax. 2. Is a pandemic with serious health risks for our entire population 3. demand our government act responsibly then maybe we could get back to school.

Unfortunately all the people screaming about getting back to school are the same ones who refuse to do and/or support all the things necessary for it to happen. Its like the friggin twilight zone.....

💯

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am in an essential job and I go in every day. We all wear masks all day, we sit 6+ feet apart, we keep track of everyone we come into contact with, meeting sizes are limited, etc. If I can do this why can’t schools? There is no more essential job that teaching.

Nurses and doctors went to hospitals without enough PPE to touch Covid positive patients and get their fluids all over them. They didn’t whine en masse and refuse to do their job. What teachers are being asked to do is only 1% of the risk of what these healthcare workers did.

Have you ever taken 3 children to a grocery store? How about 30?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Guess what? We parents are ALSO risking getting Covid if the schools open. We are at least as at risk as teachers. But in spite of that I want the schools to open because it is best for my child. Teachers should have the same commitment to kids. If the schools don’t open, many children will go to day care where the risks of spread will be greater, not less.

Feel disgusted and let down by DCPS

Teachers should be willing to die for YOUR child? Are you willing to commit to potentially dying for someone else's child? You are not "at least" as at risk because you are only exposed to your one child, whereas teachers are exposed to all of them.

Yes! That is the point. I am putting myself and my child at a tiny risk because I think opening schools is best for my child AND most children.

And do you really want a teacher who would not put themselves at some risk to do what is best for kids? How would you feel about the teachers at Newtown who died ran away instead of trying to help the children?

[Anonymous]

Bringing Newtown up completely destroys the credibility of your argument. Crass.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is like the ultimate form of gaslighting. We have leaders who have done NOTHING to stop the spread of the virus, and have actually undermined efforts to do so. Then they want to blame the teachers when schools can't open safely.

Sad to see how many of you have fallen for it.

I love how the blame is on federal leadership. Yes it has been horrible. But if you read the national response framework on a pandemic, the responsibility is at the state and local level. In some states have done much better than others.

Federal leadership? What’s that? We wouldn’t know given the current admin. They are entirely to blame, for lack of testing, tracing, production of PPE, and for undermining adherence to social distancing and mask wearing. Whether it’s simple incompetence or malice, or both, is unclear, but it’s clear the current administration is a failure.

+1. But I think there has been a failure at all levels to prioritize schools in the reopening plans. We are prioritizing indoor dining over education.

We need to have an honest conversation about the long term risks/benefits of reopening schools. Right now any support for reopening schools in any fashion draws the immediate criticism that you want to kill teachers. There are other sectors of society that have opened (or never closed) because the benefits of keeping them open outweigh the risks if closing to the society at large, even as it means that individual employees assume higher risk (my DH is such an employee). And it might be that the answer differs depending on the age group- my hunch is that it would be higher benefit/lower risk to bring ES students back. Then you could focus on making sure the older students have the resources they need for remote learning (computers, internet, etc.). But that’s just me- we need to have a real cost/benefit analysis and no one has stepped up to the plate to provide that.

So, not everywhere. For example, NYC has indefinitely postponed indoor dining to mitigate that risk. And gyms. And museums. Pretty much any indoor space where people would congregate in numbers for a prolonged period of time. But NYC schools are still at risk because of the porous state borders and the 12,000 people arriving daily from states with high levels of community spread. There's a reason US citizens are no longer welcome in other countries, and that is our government's abysmal failure to control the spread of this virus. They don't discriminate based on which state you are a resident of, because that is meaningless. People travel from state to state freely-this is why we need a federal response. Not a local response.

NYC subway and their bus system are fully open. Riders 'congregate' there for prolonged periods of time.. and how! What's up with lower NY numbers, then?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Uh no. teachers are—to put it simply—scared to die.

There’s a pandemic and if schools hadn’t closed in march, the death toll would have been much higher.

The political part of this is how terribly Trump has handled it for months and months, calling it a hoax, never wearing a mask, pitting states against each other for proper equipment, firing the pandemic team long before this happened, refusing to listen to top health experts.

If teachers had proper PPE and schools could have soap and paper towels, maybe they wouldn’t be so scared, but my kids in McPs —a wealthy county —often don’t even have soap in the bathrooms. How the hell can they keep the virus at bay without the proper equipment?

This.
People act in their self interest. They are scared to die. It will outweigh any concern regarding the consequences of a poor/no education. And I do believe there is a consequence, I’m not down playing it. But, government should DO SOMETHING to reduce their risk. Geez.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Uh no. teachers are—to put it simply—scared to die.

There’s a pandemic and if schools hadn’t closed in march, the death toll would have been much higher.

The political part of this is how terribly Trump has handled it for months and months, calling it a hoax, never wearing a mask, pitting states against each other for proper equipment, firing the pandemic team long before this happened, refusing to listen to top health experts.

If teachers had proper PPE and schools could have soap and paper towels, maybe they wouldn’t be so scared, but my kids in McPs —a wealthy county —often don’t even have soap in the bathrooms. How the hell can they keep the virus at bay without the proper equipment?

I’m shocked to hear schools don’t have soap in the bathrooms. That being said I am CERTAIN parents or even strangers would be more than happy to donate to the school if that’s so it takes to reopen. I don’t have kids but I’d gladly restock your school singlehandedly! Sadly I do think there are some teachers who don’t want to reopen at all if they have to take any risk whatsoever and there still getting paid. They should feel more sense of responsibility for the future of our children. Imagine if our healthcare workers refused to help patients until some long list of demands were met. Teachers play just as big a role in the (social, intellectual, emotional) health of our society as healthcare workers do.

It has been disheartening to read how many teachers don't consider themselves essential. They are scared of all the wrong things.

It is. It’s certainly changed how I think about teachers. They’ve always viewed themselves as societal heros, like doctors and nurses, so I guess I have too. Once you realize just how transactional their relationship is with children, that they aren’t in it to make a difference or mold children’s lives, that it is all about a paycheck— you realize how over compensated they are for having pensions and benefits. They talk about “only” making $70000, and leave out the “for nine months” part. The “ no childcare expenses over the summer” part. The “pregnancies don’t off track my career” part. The complete job security part. The impossible to fire part.

Fact is, we can drive a harder bargain and in a recession, we should. And if education can be done with no human interaction, it can be off shored. Forget the people talking about the need to being in English speaking immigrants to teach. They can teach from their home and get paid a much lower wage.

I know this who debacle has made me realize that I’m the taxpayers and teachers are my employees. And I am not happy with paying taxes to support their sick-in. If we are going full DL in a pandemic future, may as well hire from overseas and get my taxes down